1999 Suburban interior lights not shutting off

It's a 1999 1500 Suburban 4x4 (I'm loving that gas mileage about now) and the battery had died. I jump started and all seemed okay. No interior lights left on, etc. Went out later to go somewhere and the battery was dead again. After getting it running I noticed that the interior lights do not time out and go off like they should. I can press the over ride button and once I turn it off they don't come on but I would like to get this fixed. In the past even if a door was left open the lights would turn off by themselves after a bit of time.

Is there a relay somewhere that does this? If no relay, any suggestions?

Doug

Had the same issue a while ago with my '99-K1500 Sub.
On the right side of the override button there is a scroll knob.
That knob has to be at the lower dot. The upper dot is "always on".

Yep, checked that already. It was the first thing I looked at.

Doug

Try using the "Search this forum" next time.

"12-28-2004, 01:11 PM #2
Tuffdrvr88
AF Enthusiast



Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 123 Re: 99 burb - auto interier dimmer light

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Im not positive on the '99's but i've seen the relay light attached to the buzzer when the door is open. It should go from the door panel, up under the dash and behind the fuse box. Like i said, im not positive buts its worth a look. "

From this thread here > http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=337980

Thanks for the lesson in forum etiquette. I tried the search first and it probably would have come up if the original poster had spelled interior correctly.

Just FYI... because I only have a few posts on this forum doesn't mean I don't know how to use a forum. I always search before asking a question.

Doug

Replace the pin switches on the front driver and passenger doors, these go bad and cause the problems you described. The old ones are a little hard to get out, but the new ones go in easy. This will fix your problem.


Jeff

Doug: Is your '99 Sub an old body style or new body style. If it's the old body I'll try to help you out. (Also need to know if you have the remote keyless entry sytem).


If it's new body, I think they started putting BCM's (Body Control Modules) in. All kinds of body stuff is controlled by that and I don't have the manuals for the new ones.

Post back and let's see if we can get you fixed up.............Steve

My Suburban is the old body style and it does have a keyless entry system/alarm. I don't know if it's factory or not. I would suspect not but I don't know what they put in from the factory. It's a Regency conversion which just looks to be leather seats and a DVD player.

I haven't had a chance to get out and try any of the suggestions yet, so for now we just have the Dome Over ride button depressed so that they just stay off. That seems to be working except I would really like to have the lights at night.

Any help would be most appreciated.

Doug

Problem areas:

1. headlight and panel dimmer switch
2. interior door lamp control module
3. keyless entry module
4. door lock control module
5. door jam switches.
6. wiring problems.

PS: check your PM's

Had the same problem with my '99 Sub. Found a bad pin switch on the passenger door. It was a sneaky intermittent; most of the time it would function correctly.

My friend's '98 also had the same issue but it turned out to be a bad keyless entry module. Lights would sometimes come on with "low" battery voltage at idle; almost always in the middle of the night. We had to disconnect the module to find it (not fun to get to). Dealer replacement was $170

99 Suburban 5.7 4WD, 106k miles.
Symptoms: dead battery after float charging 2 nights prior, time display on radio remained visible(occasionally) when ignition off and key removed. Radio did not turn off with the removal of the key. I got in the habit of always using the dome override/defeat after kids left a door cracked while up in the snow a few years ago.

To check for leaks, I ran a VOM between battery neg and the cable, saw only .01mA blips approx. every 8 seconds or so.

With key out, I could hear something like a fan running in the dash, but it wasn't the air/vent system - all fan switches were in the off position, and no air exiting the vents. Somehow I think that removing the neg bat cable reset whatever fan(?) switch was running behind the dash near the radio, not sure.

With the dome defeat switch on (in override), when opening the right rear passenger door, all courtesy/dome lights came on (occasionally), and the radio turned on - really strange.

Net of all this is that the rubber accordian boot between the right rear post and door became dislodged, and allowed the blue wire (power window motor-up, (Haynes 12-38)) to grind the insulation and eventually ground to the frame where it enters the post. When I found this I confimed a few times that grounding the blue wire turned on both the dome/courtesy lights and the radio, even with the dome defeat switch engaged and radio power knob manually turned off prior to exiting the drivers side a few minutes beforehand.

Re-taped the wire bundle between the door and jamb, reset the rubber accordian boot in its place, now all is well. No batt discharge, radio and dome defeat work as expected. Still think there might be something in the ignition switch, though.

Forgot...thanks all for the guidance on this forum. Intake man gasket, broken driver door handle, replaced fuel pump/sender, intermittent battery drain, and windshield wiper motor issues resolved by those who took time to post info here...much appreciated